"That power just now was..."
Hiashi Hyuga was still shaken. When he had looked directly into those heavenly blue eyes, he felt that his own Byakugan was not worthy of comparison.
Naruto Uzumaki smiled and explained, "It's a newly born power. Perhaps its evolution took an unexpected turn..." He wasn't sure if these eyes could be called the Tenseigan, but he had no doubt they represented the true evolutionary path of the Byakugan, the one belonging to the main branch of the Ōtsutsuki clan.
Recalling the fear that had seized him moments earlier, Hiashi sighed softly. "That dōjutsu… it's a very strong power."
"Not really." The young Hokage shook his head and pressed his temples. "Compared to the power I've lost, it's not worth mentioning."
It truly was nothing compared to what he had lost. Spiritual energy is deeply tied to emotion. Just as the Uchiha clan secreted a special chakra when overwhelmed by feeling, Naruto was no exception. Those ethereal blue eyes had absorbed a hundred years of energy, which had softened his temperament, yet his assertiveness and darker thoughts still held the upper hand.
Bizarre images flashed through Naruto's mind, one after another. He narrowed his eyes and cracked a chilling smile. "A hundred years, and the problem still isn't solved. I really was naive..."
"Lord Hokage?" Hiashi asked, startled.
"I'm fine." Naruto rubbed his eyes. As he was about to leave the secret room, he paused, turned his head, and said, "Thank you... senior."
After leaving the secret room, Naruto glanced around the courtyard. The Hokage Guard Platoon was waiting for him, but so was a nervous Hinata. The girl seemed very worried about the conversation between Naruto and her father.
It's a nostalgic sight, he thought, one I never noticed in my youth.
Naruto walked up to Hinata. He saw the sweat on her flushed cheeks as she anxiously fidgeted with her fingers. This was his future wife.
"Hinata..." After a moment of hesitation, Naruto asked in a low voice, "Um... want to go get some ramen together?"
"Eh?" The girl looked up, her face a mixture of nervousness and joy.
On the way to Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto temporarily dismissed the Hokage Guard Platoon, leaving only him and Hinata to walk in silence.
"Hinata, don't be nervous..." Naruto said, noticing the sweat on her face. He reached out to wipe it away, and she stood shyly, not daring to move.
The blond boy's gaze grew distant. Through Hinata's youthful face, he seemed to see her grown-up appearance. The thumb that was meant to wipe away sweat slowly moved to the corner of her lips, gently caressing it.
So moist... In his memory, Hinata would also... but that was just a memory.
The girl didn't react as he'd imagined. Instead, she looked at him in utter shock. "Na... Naruto-kun... you..." She couldn't believe how bold he was being.
"...Sorry." Naruto immediately came to his senses and pulled his hand back. The current Hinata was only thirteen. She was still that shy girl.
"It's... it's okay!" Hinata shook her head. Seeing the disappointment on his face, she suddenly stepped forward and tightly grasped his hand with both of hers. "Naruto-kun... actually... for a long, long time, I've..."
"Hinata, I like you." Naruto's hair blew in the wind as he looked calmly at the stuttering girl and said it plainly.
Only in the future, when he was truly with her, would he realize how precious she was. She was like a holy light.
"Eh?" Hinata was dazed, as if she couldn't believe what she'd heard.
"Eh?" After confirming her ears weren't playing tricks on her, the daze on her face turned to shock.
"Eh?" When she finally registered that the blond boy in front of her was confessing to her, the shock turned to panic. The girl hurriedly lowered her head. She wasn't that strong yet. "Naruto-kun, I... actually, I..."
"It seems I've disturbed you, Lady Hinata."
A voice interrupted her. Not far away, Neji Hyuga was slowly walking over, flanked by his teammates, Rock Lee and Tenten. The Hyuga prodigy gave Hinata a deep look before turning to Naruto. "Lord Hokage is here, too?"
"Ha, Neji, Lee, Tenten..." Naruto awkwardly pulled his hand back, avoiding the girl's gaze, and scratched his head. "You guys all know already?"
"It's not exactly a secret in the village," Neji said. It would be strange if the identity of Konoha's next Hokage was still a secret. He nodded, admitting to himself that while he hadn't believed it at first, the matter was now settled.
Neji's thoughts drifted. Their supervising Jonin, Might Guy, feeling he'd lost to Kakashi, had become even stricter with their training. He even started talking about Rock Lee competing for the position of Sixth Hokage.
'Can that muscle-brained teacher even think straight?' Neji wondered. 'Is being Hokage something you can achieve through effort alone? You need basic intelligence, right? If Rock Lee became Hokage, the entire village would have to have lost its mind. You'd have better luck relying on Tenten.'
Neji raised an eyebrow and extended his hand. "Congratulations on becoming the Fifth Hokage, Naruto." He was still angry about how Naruto had beaten him half to death during the Chunin Exams, and he couldn't understand why the village would choose him. But, he had to admit, the guy's strength was undeniable.
"Congratulations! Please tell Sasuke we will fight again!" Rock Lee's brain worked in strange ways; he completely ignored his leader's mood and focused only on his rival.
Tenten rubbed her forehead. "If Naruto becomes Hokage, should we get him a congratulatory gift or something?"
"Please don't." Naruto's face immediately darkened as he sternly refused. He gave them a quick nod. "...Thanks."
"Well then, we won't disturb you," Neji said, glancing between Naruto and Hinata. "We're leaving now." Konoha was short on manpower, and they still had missions to complete.
Hinata watched her cousin's departing back and said in a small voice, "Brother Neji seems a bit strange..."
"Well, he's probably going to get even stranger after a while," Naruto replied with a smile. Thinking back to his conversation with Hiashi, he rubbed Hinata's hair again. "Hinata, when it's just the two of us, you can be a little bolder."
"...Ye... yes... Naruto-kun." Hinata's face was completely red, and she was sweating profusely.
"Let's go, let's go eat ramen!"
Half an hour later, Naruto rested his head in his hand, hating his own suggestion. He knew Hinata's appetite, so why had he been so reckless? He wasn't officially Hokage yet, so there was no high salary. Between the Chunin Exams and his search for Tsunade, he hadn't done any missions in a long time.
Hinata, holding a bowl bigger than her head, looked at the boy rummaging through his wallet. "Did I... eat too much?" she asked in a small voice.
"...Not at all. You can still have a little more." Naruto's face was full of an encouraging smile. But when his gaze drifted to the stack of large, empty bowls next to her, his body stiffened.
-----
Bonus:
Naruto Uzumaki: Is your daughter a bit of a big eater?
Hiashi Hyuga: It's fine...
Naruto Uzumaki: Fine?
Hiashi Hyuga: Okay, just a little bit...
Naruto Uzumaki: Have you been starving her?
Hiashi Hyuga: I have not! Don't be ridiculous. Our Hyuga clan is a noble clan of Konoha...
Naruto Uzumaki: So...
Hiashi Hyuga: So she must maintain the figure of a noble lady.
Naruto Uzumaki: Her figure is indeed... well starved.